Gabrielle Russon / Kalamazoo GazetteParts of a single-engine, experimental aircraft can be seen Friday afternoon in a wooded area on the west side of Oshtemo Township after the plane crashed shortly before noon Friday. The green and white craft landed nose-first with its tail (dark green) in the air. The white wings are on the ground.

OSHTEMO TOWNSHIP — No injuries were reported after a single-engine aircraft crashed shortly before noon Friday on the west side of Oshtemo Township.

Authorities said the crash occurred shortly after takeoff from privately owned Newman’s Airport.

Police identified Robert Aardema, who lives near the airport on 2nd Street, as the pilot.

Oshtemo Township Fire Chief Mark Barnes said the plane — which went down in a wooded area behind a house in Skyview Estates shortly before noon — was an experimental aircraft and that the pilot was “unbelievably” not injured in the crash.

"The pilot stated he was taking off to the north and experienced engine trouble," said a news release from the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office. "He was over M-43 when he turned. He lost power and the plane went down in a heavily wooded area northwest of the runway."

Steve Anderson, who works for Garnaat’s Window Cleaning and was working on a house a couple hundred yards from where the plane crashed, said that after takeoff, the plane tried to make a turn. He then heard the engine backfire three or four times.

“All of a sudden, it went down into the trees,” he said.

Anderson said he rushed to the crash, where he said the pilot was already out of the plane and appeared to be okay — “not a scratch on him." Anderson said the plane was destroyed, however.

“The plane was totaled,” Anderson said. “There are not wings left on it, no tail.”

Skyview Estates is an airpark subdivision between M-43 and Almena Drive. All of its houses have hangers and access to the grass airfield at Newman’s Airport.

The green and white plane went down about 1/2 mile south of M-43. It crashed nose-first into several trees behind one of the houses in the subdivision.

The sheriff's office and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash, police said.